


Jõtaider - State 2: Sheepy Situation

by ForbiddenArchive



Series: Jõtaider [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Brainwashing, Corruption, Hypnosis, Sheep Boy TF, Somnophilia, Tokusatsu - Freeform, facesitting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:13:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22311547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForbiddenArchive/pseuds/ForbiddenArchive
Summary: A young man finds himself sleepier than ever, as Mikai finds that she's not the only heroine on the block.
Series: Jõtaider [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531379
Kudos: 3





	Jõtaider - State 2: Sheepy Situation

**Author's Note:**

> Holy hell this took way too long to get written.

The clock struck 7.  
  
Three young students were sitting within the Mimoto Highschool's library, each of them devoted to their studies in their own way. One of them not as much, given the way his head was currently pressed into the book underneath, using it as a form of a cushion.  
  
"...Tiro." The lone girl amongst the three, Saki Himitsu asked aloud as she closed her book while sighing. "I know you graciously decided to help Tsubasa with his studies, but that does not excuse inviting me along to do all the work." She continued as she brushed a hand through her neat hair, huffing ever slightly in a dignified manner.  
  
The youngest of the three, Tsubasa, was burying himself in a myriad of books in his own way. Namely, with one hand pressed firmly against the back of the book while another hastily scribbled notes. "I-I'm sorry it all had to come to this, Tiro-senpai, Saki-senpai. I'm just... just..." He muttered dejectedly, as a soft snore caused him to suddenly drop the book in surprise.  
  
'Tiro', also known as Hachiro Tachibana, yawned as he pulled himself out of the book that he had been resting on. A soft smile on his tired lips. "It's fine, Tsubasa. You're just panicked because of all the extra work you need to put in to apply for a club. Very admirable, if I might add..." Even as he spoke and as awake as he now looked, he still carried the same air of sleepiness as usual...  
  
Saki shook her head. "You're one to talk, Tiro. What did your family say when you came home barely passing through your classes? I know your parents have a tendency to go overboard, but..." The concerned girl started trailing off, only for a soft chuckle to break her concentration. "It's not funny! You could get in serious trouble with your old folk!"  
  
"Since when did the student president care for a single student like me? Come on, Saki. I'm just as grown up as you are, I can handle myself perfectly fine..." The sleepy-looking boy brushed her concerns aside, as he cast his eyes back on the youngest. "Now, Tsubasa. How much more do you need to do before the applications are done?"   
  
The squirming young man gulped a little as he looked at his papers, shuffling through them as more and more sweat started dribbling down his cheeks... "Eh.. ehehe... T-Tiro-senpai..." He muttered nervously, only to be interrupted by a yawn.  
  
His senior continued to smile as he reached over to run his hand through the youth's hair. "It's fine. Applications have to be turned in within next week, we'll just do it together tomorrow. Just swing by early, and everything will be sorted out. Alright?" He sounded so carefree and careless, even as he tried to reassure the young boy...  
  
"Uh... Uhuh! Thanks, Tiro-senpai!" Tsubasa smiled as he picked up his supplies and stuffed them into his schoolbag, the sweat continuing to run down his face rather rapidly. "I-I should get going though, Papa will be mad at me if I'm not home in time. W-Well, not mad, more... N-Never mind, see you both tomorrow!"  
  
And like that, the kid ran off, leaving both older students alone. Which meant that it was Saki's time to sigh.  
  
"You're lucky you're the youngest in your family, Tiro. Otherwise, you would be in hot water over what you've been doing. Wasting your days away not achieving your best..." The student president lamented, prompting a more somber laugh from her friend of many years.  
  
Tiro merely turned one eye to look towards her as he slowly lowered his head onto the book once more. "Saki. They're planning to kick me out, they're just waiting for the proper excuse. I don't see the point in appeasing them if all of my efforts will be wasted anyway." His voice sounded so resigned to his fate as he yawned, on the verge of drifting off to sleep once again.  
  
Saki bit into her lower lip. "I... I don't want to accept that. There has to be another way."  
  
"Nah. Don't worry about me, worry about your own duties. You've got people that look up to you, after all, I'm just a washup that the family doesn't wanna deal with." The sleepy boy replied as he stretched his arms a little. "Now, how about you get going too? It's about to be closing hours. I'll just take a little nap and head home..."  
  
The long-haired straight-A student paused... and nodded defeatedly. "Fine. Just know that I'll come running if you need me. You and all the rest of the students. I won't let you be left behind." Saki muttered as she got up, slamming the door to the library behind her...  
  
Tiro merely stared at the doors to the library before shaking her head. "She always did care too much for her own good... Shouldn't she be looking out for herself, one of these days..?"  
  
"Mmhm! She's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong!"  
  
The sleepy student suddenly opened his eyes wide as he whipped his head out of the book, only to bump his head up against something flat yet soft. "Wh-Huh?" He blinked and turned his head fully around, coming face to face with a young-looking boy... a strange one at that.  
  
Strange was a bit of an understatement. The mystifying youth wore a white, light-green and dark-green bodysuit that covered mostly everything but his face, while his chest was specifically emphasized by a heart-shaped window. His eyes were serpentine irises, and there were a pair of fangs that stuck out of his mouth as a snake's would. He was... a monster? Weren't they trying to integrate and live alongside humans in harmony or something?  
  
"Aw, what's the matter? Never seen a Cobra before? Well don't you worry, you're going to see plenty of me from now on. And 'plenty' of 'me' just the same..." He grinned like a cheeky brat, as he took ahold of the sleepy boy's hand before letting it slide down his bodysuit, letting him get a real feel for just how intricate the suit was...  
  
Up until he stopped right on the bulge at the bottom. The one that was so disgustingly soft that the gradually entranced sleepy lad couldn't do anything but push his fingers helplessly against it, causing it to squeak and squeak. And squeak.. .and squeak...  
  
Tiro's pants grew tighter as his cheeks grew redder. What was this strange warmth that overwhelmed? And what was the heaviness that came with it? His eyelids grew heavier as he couldn't do anything but stare at the wonderful bulge that occupied every sense he had.  
  
Making him completely unaware of the cobra-like boy pulling out a bracelet with a devilish grin on his face. "Well, since you're soooo busy having a bit of fun with my bulge, how about I fill you with something much more important? Maybe give you a few wet dreams since you're such a cute sleeper, doesn't that sound nice?"   
  
"Nice... Wet dreams..." Tiro muttered in a trance as he slowly felt the bracelet being forced onto his wrist... only for his eyes to close completely as it started working its corruptive magic. He collapsed in his chair, a loud snore slipping from his lips.  
  
The bodysuited boy stepped back as he watched the bracelet wearing boy's skin turn pitch black. His clothes popped off, revealing his surprisingly lithe form, which was then quickly covered up in a layer of white sheepy fluff that not only managed to be softer than anything he had ever seen before... but given the yawns that slowly slipped out of the young man's mouth seconds later, the fluff would make sure that he stayed on the brink between sleep and awakeness even more so than he normally was...  
  
His transformation would progress throughout the night, so all Cobra had to do was give him a little kiss, a 'seal of approval' so to say. "Sleep tight, Sleepy Sheep! When you wake up, you're gonna have a looooot of things on your mind... and a loooot of people to use as outlets for all the lust running through your loins!"  
  
The snake skinned boy laughed after christening the newly created Jõtaijin, only to jump into the darkness of the library to make his cunning escape.  
  
The clock struck 8. Then shattered, as a single yawn filled the entire library, blanketing it in sleepy energies...  
  
\---  
  
"Yumeko Watanabe."  
  
"Here."  
  
"Tsubasa Sato."  
  
"H-Here!"  
  
"Agatha Anemone."  
  
"Present."  
  
"Mikai Fushimi."  
  
The class grew silent... and then, for the first time in years, a voice spoke up.  
  
"Here!"  
  
The formerly dejected blonde smiled as she held up her hand... and promptly, she received a ton of stares from her classmates. The ones that she had been ignoring for all this time. They were utterly bewildered by the fact she actually spoke up.  
  
Sweat ran down Mikai's cheek as she slowly sat back down in her chair. "W-What, I just..." She started to mutter, as whispers started to spread amongst the other students. All except for Yumeko, who shot her a brief yet meaningful smile.  
  
Mr. Maki cleared his throat, dispelling the whispers as order returned to the class. He looked towards the blonde with the slightest smile, which seemed to carry a somber air to it. She didn't know why, but he both seemed sad and happy to see that she finally responded to the morning routine.  
  
"Now, everyone, Before we get to today's lecture, I have a couple of people to introduce to you all." The larger man declared as he turned towards the entrance to the classroom. "Ladies, if you would please enter?"  
  
The door opened, and two strange women stepped in. Both of them wearing a pin that depicted the logo of the company that had been sustaining Mimoto for a long time now. Atlas Corp. Something about the two of them bothered Mikai, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.  
  
Mr. Maki started speaking for a brief moment, only for the white-suited and black-and-white-haired woman to interrupt him. "We'll handle the introductions, Mr. Maki." Her tone sounded both dull and stern at the same time, prompting the teacher to take a seat as she took center stage.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I am Hiro Fukano. I work with Atlas Corp to investigate the monster attacks that have been happening around the city as of late. For the time being, I have been assigned to your school to ensure that what happened a few days ago won't happen again." Her introduction was cold, yet it explained everything that it needed to. "If you see any monsters, especially ones that match the description of a 'Bat', a 'Spider' or a 'Cobra', please report to me immediately. I will see to it that the issue is solved within the hour, if not quicker. You have my word."  
  
Mikai looked carefully at the older woman, narrowing her eyes slightly. Something about the woman just didn't sit right with her, and she couldn't put her finger on why...  
  
The class whispered amongst itself as the skunk-striped woman stepped back, prompting the long braid-tail-haired cardigan-wearing brunette to step forward in turn. "I am Doctor Charlotta. I've been partnering with Atlas Corp to help people rehabilitate following their unfortunate accidents. I hope that if any of you end up like your fellow students, the ones that still have marble skin following the Lupus incident, stop by my office. I'll try and work out any issues you may have so that you won't accidentally start another outbreak. Of course, if you just want some help dealing with some other mental issues, you're free to stop by for that as well. I don't discriminate. Who knows, maybe I*ll help you solve the issues you've been struggling with all this time?"  
  
A soft giggle left the doctor's lips, and the heroic girl in the back of the classroom smiled. While Hiro made her feel worried, Charlotta felt so much more soothing. She didn't need her help, not with all that she had learned lately... but, if she ever did need help, she might just consider stopping by the doctor's office...  
  
"Remember." Hiro restated as she stepped up to Charlotta's side. "Please. Contact us if you see any suspicious monsters, or worse yet, anybody with a dome around their heads. It is urgent." Her stern tone made it hard for her plea to be taken completely to heart... until she shot everyone a glare that sent a chill down their spines. Even Mikai's.  
  
The two women bowed as they went to leave... only for Hiro to briefly backtrack over to the teacher's side. She briefly whispered something into his ear, and he merely nodded in return. Nothing more became of that conversation, and both of the Atlas-employed strangers took their leave...  
  
'Hiro Fukano and Doctor Charlotta...' Mikai thought to herself as her teacher cleared his throat once more, and the lecture began. Something she instinctively started to tune out given the fact that she still hadn't quite broken her usual habits. Just the part where she wasn't as social. Even if it meant that everyone stared at her so weirdly...  
  
As the young sandy blonde slowly started to drift off to a daydream in the middle of class, she suddenly saw a flash of light pouring out of the corner of her eye, coming from the direction of the windows. She blinked a few times before turning her head to face towards them, only to have her eyes widen as she got a better look at what had caused the flash.  
  
Not what, but rather who. The same lion pelt-wearing woman that had been hounding her dreams for the last... forever, just sat near-nakedly in the windowsill, humming to herself as she watched the teacher explain some decently difficult math to the rest of the class. "Ah. You know, stretching my legs after you accepted yourself... It's a nice thing, for a change." The strange woman chuckled, while nobody around her seemed to react to her presence.  
  
Mikai was about to speak up, only to pause as she noticed that complete disregard for the woman's presence. Instead, she just rubbed at her cheek as she tried to figure out how to communicate with the woman without sounding like a complete weirdo. 'Maybe thinking really hard will work...'  
  
"It will, we're telepathically linked." The pelt-clad woman shone a smirk in the sandy blonde girl's direction, as she crossed her legs over one another. "So, Mikai. What're you planning to do now? What do you want to do with the power you've achieved? Protect people, obviously, but what then? Do you know what to actually do?" She immediately launched into a series of questions, causing the younger girl to practically sink into her chair.  
  
The new heroine gulped a little as she thought to herself. 'S-Slow down, sloooooow down. You never told me anything beyond your name and cryptic hints as to how to break through this rut, do you really have to speed up all of a sudden?' Her cheeks had flushed a little red from the embarrassment of being overwhelmed like that.  
  
That deflection was enough to make the woman, Chimera, laugh. "You're right, I'm sorry. You still need to get used to things, and I still need to wake up fully. Tell you what, how about you try and get a better hang of your powers first and foremost, and then we'll talk about your future? Just make sure to think of me, and I'll pop on out. It is part of my power you're borrowing and turning into your own, after all."  
  
With that, she disappeared, leaving Mikai completely alone once again. Well, alone mentally. She still had a bunch of students around her, that were actually paying attention to what was being taught in class...  
  
Maybe she should try to read through the material in front of her, then she might be able to follow along without looking completely clueless...  
  
\---  
  
By the time the clock had run its course and lunchtime rolled around, the young sandy blonde was no closer to understanding what in the world her teacher was talking about. Thankfully, he hadn't given her any questions to try and answer, which might've revealed her utter inability to understand things on an academic level.  
  
"Guess not focusing on life around you takes its toll..." Mikai muttered to herself as she rubbed her hands against her cheeks, trying to rub the frustration out of her and focus on anything but the big words and difficult symbols in front of her. "What I wouldn't give for a bit of time at home, maybe a nice cup of milk with Mom..."  
  
A soft giggle ran through her head, prompting her to swing herself around to try and find the source of the sound, only to then notice a familiar smiling face peering down at her. A smile that she had protected, just a little while ago.  
  
"O-Oh, Yumeko! Why're you..." The young girl started speaking up, only to notice that everyone else had left the room already. "Oh. Ohhhh. Oh." The gears inside of the sandy blonde's head started turning as she put everything together, prompting a little laugh to leave her lips. "Guess I didn't notice that it was time to go eat, huh?"  
  
Yumeko merely smiled as she pulled over another chair, taking a seat by her new friend's table. "You continue to surprise me, Mikai. Have I told you that?" The formerly quiet girl shook her head, prompting a giggle to leave the former's lips. "Well, you do! It's not often that I end up getting saved by somebody, much less a student that I thought never was going to act normal, but... Here you are, being normal. And really bad at being normal, too."   
  
"You don't have to be so blunt about it..." Mikai replied as her friend continued to snicker a little, sweat dripping down her brow in embarrassment. "You weren't just staying around to tease me, were you? I don't really like that, it..." As she was about to trail off and talk about her past, she instead found a finger meeting her lips. One that shut her up and made her look into her friend's cute eyes...  
  
The kind girl who she had saved gently ran her hand through the delicate hair of her friend, sighing slightly and soothingly. "It wasn't just to tease you. I'm not mean like some people in our class. I was just happy to get a chance to talk to you more directly after you saved me. And the fact you're such a dork in reality just... Well, it reminds me that you end up getting help from the weirdest places. You know that feeling too, don't you?"  
  
Her friend nodded, already having her mind drift to the lion's pelt-wearing Chimera before she shook her head to get that thought out, not wanting to disturb the woman inside of her head. "I... I didn't know you were brave enough to stand up to a monster either, so... I just did what I thought was right at that moment. And that meant I had to beat up Mumei-chan." The tone of the sandy blonde's voice dropped slightly, still seemingly remorseful for the injuries that she had inflicted upon the one girl that she had begun to form a kinship and a friendship with...  
  
"Mumei-chan's fine, Mikai. She's just got a few scrapes and a cute pair of ears. Whatever happened to turn her into that warrior didn't exactly disappear after you beat her up, but she smiled when I stopped by to visit her in the nurse's office. I don't know why they didn't just straight up send her off to a hospital, but as long as she's okay, I don't think it matters." Yumeko explained as she petted the young heroine, only to stand up from her seat as she reached out with her hand. "But, that's enough about her. How about you and I go to eat some lunch? I'll pay for today's serving, as thanks for what you did."  
  
Upon hearing that Mumei-chan was okay, Mikai's mood immediately lit up. She smiled just like Yumeko as she jumped out of her seat, grabbing the latter's hand as she shook it up and down. "Thanks. Thanks a lot, Yumeko." Her smile was as bright as the sun and as straight and true as an arrow. For once in her short life, she was well and truly happy.  
  
"It's nothing. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't going to end up all depressed again after you did those cool things to save me." Her new friend matched her smile as she started walking out of the classroom, practically dragging her down the halls in the process.  
  
Mikai did her best to keep up with Yumeko's pace, despite the surprising force behind the grip, as the two of them made their way towards the cafeteria...  
  
\---  
  
While most of the students were busy heading off to have a bite to eat, two other students were instead heading off to the library. One of them was the young brunette Tsubasa, who was hefting another huge book under his arm. The other was some other student around his age, who seemed a lot more laid back.  
  
"I'm telling you, if we don't study our pants off, we're going to flunk..." The nervous young man muttered, only to receive a small elbow to the side from his friend.  
  
"Don't worry about it. Besides, you know you just come here so you can look at all the Natura Couleur manga that the school's got laying around. You're a nerd at heart, you dork." The friend chimed, his words striking true as he noticed the young man looking at the floor after his teasing. "Don't feel down, you're the best dork I know. Just don't forget that you don't need to make excuses for the kind of stuff that you do. If you're not true to yourself, you'll just end up regretting it down the line."  
  
Tsubasa narrowed his eyes as they walked deeper into the library. "Since when were you the one that gave out sage advice? Did you read some sort of horoscope or fortune or something..?" He asked, prompting his friend to laugh as he received a slap on the back.  
  
"No, I've just got convictions! I'm great with that kind of stuff!" The nameless student laughed loudly and truly, almost making the library shake from the volume of it all...  
  
As the two friends continued chatting with one another, neither of them noticed the soft snoring coming from the depths of the library. Especially not as it stopped, and a yawn replaced them. A yawn that belonged to something that shouldn't have been awoken.  
  
"Noisy..." The soft-sounding boy's voice resounded throughout the library, making both of the boys take notice. Their conversation completely dropped as they tried looking around for the source of that sound, sweat running down their backs...  
  
Tsubasa gulped as he stuck close to his friend, nervously pushing his head into his hands. "W-What was that? Was that a ghost..? Are there even ghosts that are awake this early in the day..?"  
  
"H-Hey, don't jinx it. It's not a ghost, it has to be somebody that just sticks around the library and sleeps all day. A slacker, like that Fushimi girl in your class. I'm sure we can just leave, and they won't bother us." The more confident boy said, nodding to himself as he started making his way towards the exit. Not realizing that he had just ignored the potential dangers that were about to befall him.  
  
The young brunette wasn't about to challenge what he had said because he had never seen Mikai be anything but an unresponsive mess... Aside from today. So, he still wasn't sure that she was on the road to recovery or not. What he was sure of, however, was the sight of something creeping out from the side, leering towards his friend... "H-Hey! Watch out!" The nerdy boy cried out as he almost ran towards his friend, trying to tackle him out of the way...  
  
But it was too late. Just as he took off in a sprint, the strange boy whose voice had echoed all throughout the library made his move. His confident friend was pinned against the ground, gasping loudly as he was met with a sight that he never had expected before.  
  
A boy's butt. Not just any boy's butt. A sheep boy's butt, which was both pleasantly plump in all of the right ways, but it also had a nice layer of fluff covering the sides of it, making it even softer than it had any right to be. On top of that, the boy could feel his nose proking up against one extra little bit of naughty stuff, namely the strange boy's cock, bulging against his thighs...  
  
"Sleepy..." The sheep-like boy yawned as he leaned down, keeping his ass firmly pressed into the young man's face as he started wrapping his soft arms around his body, hugging him close in a manner that somebody would a body-sized pillow. It was... a strange sight, to say the least.  
  
Tsubasa was just forced to stand there and look at the peculiar display, blushing as he noticed the inherent eroticism behind it all as he tried to tiptoe around his friend and the strange boy. It was a little difficult since he didn't want to make his steps sound too loud, but he managed to sneak towards the door that led out to the school hallways...  
  
Until he heard a moan slip out of both boys' lips, prompting him to look back at the two of them in fear and surprise. Surprise that only grew more potent as he noticed what the sheep was doing to his friend, who didn't even move to struggle or fight back against him...  
  
The sheep-boy was busy lazily grinding his butt up against his friend's face, while he rubbed his head up against said friend's bulge at that very same time. It was like he was twisting and turning in a bed, and the boy underneath him was acting like his blanket. While that monster seemed to be a sound sleeper, he had an equally difficult time properly resting. Unfortunately for his pillow-like victim, all of that rubbing was gradually causing a substance to leak onto him, something that quickly spread across the entirety of his body...  
  
"D-Do something..." The young brunette tried to beg quietly, as he merely stood there, watching his friend get humped up against and made a sexual plaything in the soft kind of way. He just couldn't move away, fearing for his life if he were to disturb them. And at the same time, he kind of hoped that he could get through to one of them. Stop things before they got too far. He had always seen his favorite heroines on tv trying that kind of tactic, and it always worked...  
  
So why did he feel so weak, when another louder moan left his friend's lips? Why did he feel so pathetic when he looked at the dome that gradually covered up the boy's head as if he couldn't do a single thing to change the outcome? Was all the stuff he had seen on tv a lie? Could a boy like him really not change a single thing?  
  
Tsubasa continued to stand there, watching as he felt his knees grow weaker. But his friend, he was focused on something else entirely. Something that filled up his vision from every angle, no matter how hard he tried to turn his head around in the ball-shaped dome that reached up above his shoulders...  
  
All he could see. Every little thing that he could understand, as he threw his eyes around... Was the boy's butt. The butt of the sleepy sheep that was still humping away at the soft exterior of his head. The kind of butt that he was meant to serve. To obey. To not even come close to questioning. He listened, and he obeyed...  
  
"Mmmm... Not soft enough..." The sheep boy muttered as he lifted himself off his brand new pawn, yawning as he rubbed away at his eyes. "Go. Get me more pillows. I need a good night's sleep..." With a surprising amount of authority pouring from his lips, the monster pointed towards the door leading out of the library, as he started shambling his way deeper inside in turn. He didn't even notice the boy that was going to stand in his way.  
  
The young man blinked a few times as he saw his former friend approach him, his clothes having shifted into nothing more than a simple pair of panties that nicely cupped his emphasized bulge. That being said, he did have a second layer of latex-like skin that was completely covered in sheep-like fluff, which made him look more than a little overly soft. So much so that just staring at him was enough to make Tsubasa's eyes flutter.  
  
"N-No, you have to... You have to wake up! This isn't like you! You're better than this!" The brunette cried out as he backed away from the menace in front of him. He had no way to defend himself, as he darted behind a table for cover.  
  
As he shook from head to toe, he just hoped that somebody would come by soon. Somebody that could help him out. He just had to avoid the touch from the sheep pawn until then...  
  
"Please hurry, anybody..."  
  
\---  
  
"I can't believe you didn't even bring any money, Mikai..." Yumeko nervously laughed a little as she pocketed her purse. "Didn't you ask your mom for any spare change that you could use?" Little by little, the black-haired girl got to learn more about the girl that had helped her so much. And little by little, she quickly understood just how far she had been detached from reality for all those years.  
  
Mikai looked more than a little embarrassed as she rubbed her cheeks. "I usually get lunch from Mom when I come home, since I never really stick around for every class, so..." She started trailing off, clearing her throat in the process. "Thanks, Yumeko. You're a lifesaver."  
  
The black-haired girl returned her gesture and her appreciation with a smile. "It's what a friend would do. Just like you helped me out when Mumei-chan was trying to breathe down my neck and turn me into a marble dog like the rest of her... What were those things, anyway?" In the middle of returning her appreciation, she started thinking aloud. "They kind of looked like chess pieces, so... Maybe they're some sort of pawn? Or, are they just really enthusiastic about wearing balls on their heads, or..."   
  
Her shorter friend shook her shoulders. "I don't really know what they are, all I know is that they got corrupted by whoever was a monster in the first place, which means I have to save them by beating that person up. I mean, it worked for Mumei-chan, so why shouldn't it work again?" She gave her side to the issue, completely ignoring any potential hazards that might spring up as a result of her forceful approach.  
  
"Because you might end up making people realize you're able to transform, Mikai. I don't think you should do that yet. This way, whoever might be stronger than the monsters you're facing might be lured into a fake sense of security. They won't even know who you are under the armor, and vice versa. Doesn't that sound useful?" Yumeko explained as she winked slightly, a glint in her eye reflecting as she gave her explanation.  
  
Mikai merely smiled and nodded. "How come you know all of these things? Are you some sort of genius, Yumeko?" She asked earnestly, rocking her legs back and forth in a rhythmic manner.  
  
"Tsubasa, a friend of mine, is really into manga with heroines like the kind you love being. So, I just thought I'd keep mentally track of the things he tells me about his manga, and then I turn it something a little more useful. Nifty, huh?" The black-haired girl giggled, only to look around a little. "Speaking of that little brunette pipsqueak, he's been a bit absent today, hasn't he?"   
  
As if fate decided to play a joke on the two of them at this very moment, a loud alarm suddenly started blaring over the intercoms. Every student in the cafeteria froze in each their own way as they looked towards the speakers. "Attention all students. A malicious presence has been detected on the School Grounds. We would advise that everyone tries to evacuate so that they are not irrevocably changed by the presence. Follow any on-hand staff or senior students outside, and keep running if you see any dome-headed people approaching. I repeat-"  
  
Both Mikai and Yumeko looked to one another as chaos started to erupt around them. They were both familiar enough with what was about to go down, especially as their minds flashed back to that fateful moment.  
  
"Well... There's the signal, Mikai. Do you want to try and solve this problem?" The black-haired girl smiled as she got up, taking her and her friend's tray with her.  
  
The sandy blonde nodded as she clenched her fist. "Of course I do! I couldn't be any happier to try my powers out again!" She smirked, an air of confidence radiating off her body as she jumped out of her seat.  
  
They both nodded at one another, with Yumeko patting her newest friend on the back in a supportive and comforting manner before the latter took off. "Go get 'em, Mimoto." Her smile widened as she took her time putting the dirty dishes away, with an intent to help out any other student she might come across in the process of evacuation...  
  
'Okay. I have a question, Chimera.' Mikai thought to herself as she ran down the school hallways, looking for any trace of pawns hanging around so that she could deal with the threat as early as possible.  
  
As she called upon the lion-pelted woman, she appeared at her side, floating lazily in the air. "What's up?" She chimed, stretching ever slightly...  
  
"...How exactly do I activate my powers again?" The sandy blonde sheepishly asked as she came to a stop, skidding past an intersection before turning around to look down that path, noticing a few silhouettes covered in fluffy sheep stuff near the end of that branch...  
  
Chimera laughed. "Just remember what you're meant to be. Then it'll appear. That belt of yours." She gave her the straightest answer she could've wished for, as she yawned a little. "Take care of this quick, okay? I need a few hours of sleep..."  
  
Mikai nodded as her headmate disappeared once more, closing her eyes to concentrate on the image of her heroic form. The lion-like armor that brimmed with power and heat as she defeated her first friend with a single kick. The form she called 'Mimoto'.  
  
In an instant, the cracked golden belt appeared around her waist. She grinned with glee as she held her hand out, feeling the power within her swelling up. It was time. She had a school to save, yet again.  
  
"HEN-"  
  
"Hold on just a second, young lady."  
  
The wind was completely pulled out of her sails as she felt a chill run down her spine. If she looked over her shoulder, she'd notice a certain black-and-white haired woman clad in a pristine white suit. The woman who had done her best to sound accommodating earlier in the day...  
  
"M-Miss Fukano? What are you doing here?" Mikai asked as the belt disappeared, its existence and materialized form intrinsically tied to the confidence that normally filled her. Thankfully, this meant that her identity wasn't going to be as easily revealed as Yumeko had feared.  
  
Hiro adjusted her sleeves as she glared into the younger girl's eyes. "Those are supposed to be my words, Fushimi. You're wandering close to danger when we made it explicitly clear that you should be heading for safety. Are you trying to get yourself turned into a monster without a cure to fix you? You've seen the students that still have traces of Legatus' attack left on their bodies, manifesting in their odd skin tones and their lupine ears."   
  
The sandy-blonde girl staggered back a bit as the older woman began to scold her, her eyebrow twitching a little. "Y-Yeah, a-and? What if I want to help whoever's in danger? What if they're one of my friends?" She tried shooting back, staying firm as she crossed her arms...  
  
The look on the older woman's face turned somber for just a moment as she listened to Mikai's reason for going into such a dangerous area, only for her expression to turn grave and serious once more. "Then you're even more of a fool because they would want you to stay safe over rescuing them." The skunk-striped woman replied dryly as she adjusted her red tie. "I was called to this school to protect the lot of you, don't make me regret having come here if you're all going to act like self-sacrificing idiots."  
  
"And how are you going to protect people, if I can't?" The younger girl asked earnestly, though a little frustration did slip out of her mouth in the process.  
  
Hiro cleared her throat as she pulled a small device out of her pocket, placing it on her wrist before it clamped shut around her upper arm. "With this. It's a little something that my parent company has been developing, just for occasions like these. Watch closely, you don't get to see something like this every day."  
  
Mikai's eyes widened as she stepped back, knowing what was about to happen in broad strokes. 'No way, another hero? Why does she have to be so abrasive about being one?' She thought to herself as she looked carefully while the older woman held her wrist up to her mouth...  
  
"Jouchaku."  
  
Hiro's gauntlet registered her voice, and immediately started to rumble and spark with energy. A bright flash reflected from the metallic surface blinding all onlookers. Once the light faded, the black-and-white haired woman stood ready, with her white suit having disappeared in the interim only to be replaced with a body-tight black undersuit.   
  
She closed her eyes as she instinctively threw a punch forward, as an ebony-colored thick metal fist appeared around her hand. The same occurred as she threw another punch with the fist-less hand, as yet another fist formed around it. A pair of kicks followed, and a matching pair of ebony boots materialized around her feet.  
  
To complete the layer, the businesswoman smashed her metallic fists together before a thick piece of armor appeared on her chest, with 'PAWN' engraved in bold lettering on the metallic surface.  
  
But that was just the initial layer. The gauntlet around her arm that controlled her transformation flashed once more, as additional armor materialized atop of the second layer. An additional protective layer of metal that would serve to weigh her down, while still adding a bit of strength to any blow she might deliver.  
  
The thing that stood out most about the newest layer, was the ridges in between every groove and panel. It seemed as if it had been designed to be removable in the very same fashion that it had been quickly attached. As if the bulk of the form was merely a result of the fact the system was still in its infancy.  
  
One final piece topped off the transformation, as an ebony visor appeared around Hiro's head, her eyes glowing brightly behind the tinted glass. "Artificial Jõtai System Online. All readings positive. SYSTEMS ALL GREEN."  
  
"PAWN, engaging the target."  
  
The steam from the transformed woman's limbs quickly filled the air around her, as a small silhouette appeared above her wrist. Despite the protective part of her armor covering up her transformation brace, she was still able to interface with it through the use of the built-in AI. The silhouette, who took the form of a young white-haired boy, was the visual representation of that AI. "Greetings, User. Huanglong has engaged active protocols. Do you need a debriefing of your current objective?"  
  
"I'm good, Huanglong. Focus on running diagnostics. This thing is still unstable, and I don't want it to fall apart in the heat of the moment." Hiro stated as she cracked her knuckles, before turning her gaze towards the sandy-blonde. "As I told you. This suit is how I'm going to protect you and your fellow students. Now sit tight. I'm going to have to deal with the source of this developing set of pawns."  
  
With that, the armored woman took off at a surprisingly fast speed, thanks to what looked like small boosters on the back of her armor. All while leaving Mikai completely awestruck...  
  
"She..." The young girl muttered as she picked herself off the floor, having fallen onto her rear when she wasn't focused due to being wowed by the transformation. "She..." The word repeated once more, as she couldn't find the right words to describe the feeling that was filling her heart.  
  
"She's a hero, even if she doesn't act like one. Is that what you want to say?" Chimera's voice ran through her ears, prompting the young girl to nod as she clenched her fist.  
  
Mikai grinned as she let her concentration grow, her belt reappearing around her waist. She wasn't about to be outdone by an adult, much less one with such a cool mechanical suit...  
  
She closed her eyes, held her open hand out in front of her, before shouting out loud.  
  
"HENSHIN!"  
  
Her transformation happened in an instant. The flames from her willpower covered her from head to toe, only to coalesce into her armor seconds later, with the embers forming her scarf as it wrapped around her neck. Underneath her helmet, she cracked a smile. She liked the power that rushed through her when she was transformed, even if she didn't have complete control over it quite yet. But there was still much time to learn, and she had more than enough time on her hands if villains and monsters were going to keep showing up nearby.  
  
"Okay. Now, to find the actual culprit!" Mikai cried out as she dashed down the corridor, leaving a firey imprint on the ground with every step she took. It actually looked like fire was rushing through the school with how quickly she was running, especially considering her enhanced speed.  
  
She noticed that the older woman had disappeared while she had transformed, leaving her a little perplexed, but considering that there were enemies up ahead, that didn't matter too much. What mattered was taking them out so that they could be returned to normal!  
  
Standing in her way was a set of latex-covered Sheep Pawns, each of them also smothered in what looked like fur from a sheep. The weirdest part about them was the way that they behaved. Each of them looked like they were practically about to fall asleep on the spot, to the point where they didn't seem harmful. She was quickly proven wrong as she got close, with every single one of those dome-heads turning towards her, alerted to her presence.  
  
"Oi, oi! Don't just stand around and look like you-" Mikai was about to complain about the way that they acted, only to be cut off by one of them jumping towards her. She instinctively stomped her foot forward before striking the mook in the stomach with a fire-clad fist, sending it flying down the hall and shattering its transformation in the process, leaving a mostly unharmed student behind...  
  
The other pawns looked to one another, before turning back towards the heroine. Each of them seemed to not be bothered by their kin being beaten, as they jumped at her in unison instead. This time, she was outnumbered, and a single blow wouldn't take them all out...  
  
So of course, she just tried her best. She threw out two punches, knocking two of those monsters back before the last one got atop of her, knocking her to the ground in turn. "Get off!" She shouted, trying to use her knee to leave an impact on its belly to force it to surrender.  
  
Unfortunately, all that did was arouse it instead. The sheep-furred pawn seemed to giggle sleepily as it humped up against her thigh, the armor growing way hotter as a result. In fact, not only was it getting hot inside of her armor, but she was also growing drowsier the more it clung to her.  
  
"D-Damnit, get... off!" Mikai cried out as she smashed her fist straight into its dome, shattering it right then and there, making the transformed student pass out against her leg. As a result, she got to see the results of her power 'purifying' a pawn up close.   
  
The broken dome revealed a young girl around her age, now cursed with sheep's skin given the tufts of fur that decorated her body. It was a better result than being a proper sheep at least, but considering that she was still naked... Well, to say that Mikai was a little embarrassed wouldn't be far from the truth.  
  
"Just... Not going to look at them when I knock them out of their transformation. That sounds juuust about right." The heroine nodded to herself as she carefully pushed the girl off her leg before getting back up and breaking into another run. "Let's just hope that there aren't as many up ah-"  
  
She came to a screeching halt as she turned around the corner, noticing that the hallway was practically overflowing with pawn-corrupted students. "C-Come on, how many did that monster get to?" Mikai sounded a little nervous as her flames started flickering, gasping as the lingering effects from the last encounter continued to run through her body.  
  
"Why, do that many actually matter?" Chimera appeared by her side, her own body completely covered in flames rather tastefully due to the powers that her host was using. "You can just blast straight through them. It's not like they'll be hurt by your attack!" The lion-eared woman laughed as she cracked her knuckles.  
  
The younger girl had sweat run down the inside of her suit as she cracked her knuckles. "You really need to tell me more about yourself on a day where I can handle it..." She muttered, causing her body-riding partner to laugh more before disappearing.  
  
She was right though. She had more than enough firepower to blast through the entire hallway. She just needed to concentrate, focus her power as she did against Mumei-chan, and then...  
  
Mikai's eyes shot open as she felt her inner flame erupting with a roar. "That's it!" She shouted as she reared her arm back, letting a proverbial inferno consume it as the ground underneath her started to crack. "I used a kick to pierce through Mumei-chan, so I'll use a punch to ram through a horde!" With that simpleminded train of logic in play, she dashed forward with her fist being thrown towards the horde.  
  
"KING'S THRUST!"  
  
As she zipped straight through it, the massive flames left behind grilling them into submission as their transformations were all undone leaving behind many boys and girls of all ages...  
  
And leaving the heroine with a still-burning arm, one that she had to thoroughly shake until it went out. "Okay, okay, the flame's gone, the suit's not overheating, we're good... Geez..." She still needed to learn how to use her power effectively, otherwise, she'd be cutting it close even more often, should she overclock her powers for finishers like this...  
  
Unfortunately, she had just expended her power when there were many more pawns to still go through, given the moans that she heard just around the corner. Mikai turned her head, and there were at least another three dozens packed into the hallway. "Oh... Oh come on, that's not fair at all..." She gasped, feeling the exhaustion filling her again.  
  
Then she heard it. The sound of something powering up. Her instincts flared up as she jumped out of the hallway, right behind the corner before whatever was coming would hit her.  
  
Letting her narrowly avoid the entire horde of pawns being smashed against the wall, courtesy of the other heroine landing one good punch on all of them. "Checkmate." were the words that left Hiro's mouth as a bunch of steam left her gauntlet, leaving her ready for another skirmish. "Huanglong, status report."  
  
As the young girl peered around the corner to look at the armored woman, she could see the silhouette standing on her wrist once more. "Special signature detected in the library. Unfortunately, I do not seem to have a map of the complex installed. If you allow me some time to download it off the servers of this school, I can pinpoint the exact location then." The small digitized boy said, as his 'owner' started walking down another hallway.  
  
The last thing Mikai heard before Hiro left her earshot was a simple statement. "Do it. And be quick about it, there are more pawns still being made." With that, she vanished down the sprawling complex that was her school.  
  
"The library..." She rubbed at her chin, only to realize what she could do. She looked to one of the students that had been corrupted into a pawn, grabbing them by the collar and shaking them as she lifted them. "Hey! Wake up! Where's the library?!" She shouted, wanting her answers as quickly as possible...  
  
It took a moment of shaking before the student, a cute boy, was roughly pulled out of his passed out state, only for his arm to point straight behind the girl. "J-Just turn right here, you... weirdo..." He stuttered, only to pass out again, in too much pain from how he had been launched several meters across...  
  
"Sorry, sorry." Mikai still needed to learn people skills again, as she turned around on a dime to face the doors to the library. "They're awfully big, do they really need a library this big..?" She asked aloud as she pushed them open, stepping inside...  
  
As she immediately saw another proverbial horde of sheep pawns packed inside. This time numbering even higher than the ones that had been crammed into the hallway. "How are there still this many!?" She let out a frustrated scream as she felt her flames flare up with rage. "FINE! I'LL JUST BEAT YOU ALL UP AND GET THROUGH THAT WAY!"  
  
Only for her anger to be cut short by another scream. "SOMEBODY! PLEASE! HELP!" A boyish voice cried out in fear, from deep within the library. In fact, she recognized that voice from somewhere. It took a split second to remember it but combined with what Yumeko had told her earlier, there's only one person it could be...  
  
"Tsubasa!" Mikai cried out as she let all of her flames gather at her foot. "I'M COMING!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she leaped into the air...  
  
"KING'S FLAME!"  
  
Before descending with a dropkick, the fires coalescing into the shape of a lion's face as she fell straight down in between the horde of mooks, knocking them all aside harmlessly and making them collapse into a pile of passed out students.  
  
Unfortunately, expending her powers for another finisher sapped her of all her remaining power. She could feel her armor creaking as she started running forward, causing her to nearly trip right then and there. "D-Damnit, I still need this power! He's in trouble and Yumeko wouldn't let me live down not saving him!"  
  
As she soldiered on, sprinting to the best of her ability, she saw the source of all the problems... The sheep that had started all of this. The cute young man who was currently cuddling a pawn for comfort, yet being completely unable to fall asleep...  
  
"Need... softer..." The sheep yawned as he got up, tossing the pawn aside harmlessly before turning towards the panicked boy trying to scamper away from him. The cute black-haired boy with those round glasses...  
  
That was Tsubasa. And he was clutching some sort of... manga? Book? She couldn't tell from this distance, but it'd explain why he was here in the first place.  
  
"G-Get away! Please! I don't want to be covered in fluff and latex and have a weird dome head! I don't want any of that!" The frightened young man did what he had to, kicking books off the shelf as he tried to climb upward...  
  
The sheep-boy merely stared at him in turn as he raised his hand towards him, only for a chain of string-like fluff to shoot out towards him. "Come down here..." He muttered in such a tired tone, emphasized when he started yawning...  
  
However, the chain burst into flames soon after, as the sheep looked towards the culprit... seeing the armored girl with a bit of fire still burning off her hand. "Step away from the nerd, sheep! You're facing me!"  
  
"Who... are you?" The sheep said as he slowly shambled towards the aggressive heroine, yawning all the while. "You look really soft... Be my pillow for a bit, okay..? Sleepy Sheep commands it..." He declared his name in such an unenthused manner, as the fluff on his body slowly started to fall onto the ground. Almost as if he was shedding it to grow a new layer.  
  
That was all a ruse, as the discarded fluff quickly shot towards the lion-like heroine, covering her from head to toe in the weird droppings. "H-Hey! Knock that off! I need all of that!" Mikai shouted as she struggled against the softness, even trying to force it off by making her body flare up with heat... But like before, when she had been pinned by one of the pawns, all she could feel was drowsiness...  
  
"You look super soft, just lay right there..." Sleepy Sheep muttered as his eyes fluttered between open and closed, another yawn leaving his mouth as he stepped closer. "You'll make such a cute pillow..." He giggled, inching ever closer.  
  
Was this how it was going to end? Was she going to lose to her second monster? Pinned beneath him and turned into a pillow? Whatever that actually meant? No, it couldn't end like this, it just couldn't! She had to do something, she needed to struggle free, she...  
  
"K-Kings... F-Flaaaame..." She tried to cry out, gather all of her power for one last burst, only for her armor to refuse to respond. "Damnit..." Mikai muttered as she stared straight ahead at the butt that was getting dangerously close to her face. In the time it took for her to struggle, he had gotten into position and readied himself for his next attempted nap...  
  
"Night night..." Sleepy Sheep chuckled as he tried sitting down... only to collapse onto his side as he received a book to the side of the head, courtesy of the boy he had neglected to finish off. "Nnnhhh... Why'd you do thaaaat..." The sleepy monster got back up onto his feet as he glared up towards Tsubasa, with genuine anger in his eyes at this point...  
  
The young boy atop the bookshelf felt the shivers spike through his body. He had managed to save the strange girl in lion armor, but what was he going to do now? He was completely open to attack, and books weren't exactly hurting him as much as they were just impeding him.   
  
He squatted down and tried to make himself as small as possible, as another chain of fluff shot straight towards him...  
  
"Interpose."  
  
The synthesized voice echoed throughout his ears as he saw another armored person standing in front of him, her hand held out to block the fluffy chain from hitting him. Stalwartly she stood, grabbing the end of the fluff before crushing the entire thing with one tug. The steam that pushed out of every crevice of the armor warmed him up, giving him confidence... Things were going to end well, he just knew it.  
  
"That's the target, User. Jõtaijin designation: Sleepy Sheep. I advise you to finish him off quickly before his drowsy powers overwhelm your defenses." Huanglong transmitted the information straight to the heads up display on Hiro's visor as she jumped down from the shelf, stretching slightly as she raised her fists.  
  
The armored woman took slow, deliberate and almost taunting steps towards the young sheep, sternly glaring at him. "Stand down. This will hurt more if you do not." She declared as some strange energy gathered in her left fist, intensifying as she got closer...  
  
"You look soft too... Maybe a little bulky, but you'll probably be good to cuddle..." The monster yawned as it stepped closer, in turn, not fearing what might just happen to him. Especially not as he shed his fluff once again, with the sentient soft stuff rushing towards Hiro to interrupt her approach.  
  
Only for every single piece to be rendered useless as it did nothing to stop her from moving, no matter how much of it properly covered her. "I told you once. I won't tell you twice." She declared as the panel on her left arm slid back, revealing her brace which was brimming with the same energy as her fist.  
  
"Pin." She firmly stated, causing the gathered energy to coalesce around her fist while the panel slid back. Her visor flashed as she took a step forward, only to break into a sprint so fast that the sheep had no time to react.  
  
The monster didn't even see the armored woman's attack land, he only registered the painful sensation in his stomach as he was punched right there, and then slammed straight into the ground. The energy from the heroine's knuckle was still left on his body in the form of a web, as she started stepping away.  
  
"H-Hey... This isn't soft at all..." The sheep muttered, only realize that things were even more wrong than that as he looked at the glow from the net that bound him. It was growing brighter, right up until..!  
  
"Checkmate."  
  
It exploded, taking the monster with it. Or rather, exorcising the corruption from the boy that had been affected in the first place. The amulet that had transformed him bounced harmlessly to the ground before shattering like the worthless accessory that it was. In turn, everyone and everything that had been harmed by him turned back, with the usual aftereffects of being corrupted by a Jõtaijin like him...  
  
Mikai gasped as she got the chance to sit back up, coughing a little as she tried to regain her strength, while still peering towards the armored woman. The woman who was, in turn, staring up at the boy still stuck on the bookshelf. A boy that was completely starstruck by her.   
  
"Enkaku." Hiro spoke into her brace as her armor turned into digitized constructs, dissolving and leaving her as finely dressed as before. The skunk-striped woman looked up at the boy, stern-faced as usual. "You showed remarkable bravery, boy. If not for you, she would've fallen victim and become his thrall like the other students. Keep that up, should you find yourself in danger yet again." Despite that, she complimented him as she then turned towards the lion-armored heroine on the floor...  
  
"You, on the other hand, should stay down and stop meddling. This isn't a game, and people that just play heroes should stay at home, safe from this menace. You won't have my help a second time if you end up in trouble again. Consider this your first and only warning." She criticized the heroine as she dusted her hands off, strutting past Mikai without even giving her the time of day. Though not without leaving her with one last degrading remark. "Consider this cleanup your penance for failing to keep yourself going, as well."  
  
With that, the older woman left the library, leaving the three students all alone.   
  
"T-Tiro-senpai..." Tsubasa muttered as he climbed down from the shelf, kneeling down by the 'purified' form of Hachiro Tachibana, with a few tears running down his cheeks as he hugged the passed-out boy, who still displayed quite a few of his sheep-like features... Most importantly that ever-soft fluff. "A-At least you'll sleep better like this..." He sobbed a little as he nuzzled into said fluff, hoping that his senior would wake up and not feel bad about everything he had done.  
  
Mikai, meanwhile, was conflicted. On one hand, she had been saved by the woman identifying herself as PAWN. On the other, she had been criticized and saved by her. "Damnit." She muttered as she got back on her feet, slowly walking out towards the exit, her armor cracking fully as it crumbled, leaving her untransformed.  
  
She had learned something from all of this. For all that she wanted to help people... she also wanted to never lose again. Especially if it meant that she'd get corrupted... and one of her friends could get corrupted too. But more, infinitely more importantly... She wanted to show her that she wasn't just playing around, trying to be a hero because it sounded neat.  
  
"I'll show you meddling when I end up saving you from a monster. Then we'll see who's meddling..." Her eyes flared up as she grinned a little. She had a whole new goal...  
  
\---  
  
"So. How's the new blood? A disappointment or something worth a damn?"  
  
Several hours later, in another part of the main Atlas Corp building, Hiro had met with one of the highest-ranking employees of the company to discuss the matters that had transpired during the day.  
  
"Green behind the ears. Used most of her energy getting to the actual monster. Had a face I'd rather not see again. The kind of stuff that would easily turn you off from ever meeting them again." The skunk-striped woman explained as she took a sip from her coffee.  
  
Her partner at the moment, a business-suited tiger-eared girl, nodded slightly. "And how about Huanglong. Is it doing its job?" She asked again, taking a sip from her own cup, hers being filled to the brim with nothing but milk."  
  
"A bit lacking in emotion, but AI isn't known to have those, are they?" Hiro replied as she looked at the device around her forearm, narrowing her eyes. "Still, did you model it after Atlas because of your connection to him, or because it'd seem fitting, Byakko?"  
  
The feline girl glared back into the white-suited woman's eyes. "Confidential. Bark up the wrong tree and I'll make sure that Seiryu gets to hear about your sass. She knows exactly what to do with your suit, should you disobey orders."  
  
"She won't, not after what the professor did to ensure that it would be completed in the first place." The taller woman replied as she finished her cup, getting up on her feet as she walked towards one of the windows showing the city below. "Still. You both did great work, putting together the scraps. Thanks, Byakko."  
  
"Just bring it back in one piece so we can keep upgrading it, and I'll be happy." Byakko replied with a little annoyance dripping from her words as she continued drinking from her cup...  
  
Hiro looked down at her wrist, her face reflected on the metallic surface of her Artificial Jõtai Device. The fruit of many good souls' efforts.  
  
She just hoped she wouldn't be wasting them.  
  
\---  
  
"I'm baaaaaaack!"  
  
Meanwhile, in the underground lair belonging to the villainous foursome behind the Jõtaijin attacks, the bodysuited King Cobra giggled as he slipped into the room, hoping to be greeted by his fellows... Only to be greeted by a more unorthodox sight instead. Namely, that of the military woman resting her head on her boss' lap, being petted like a common housepet.  
  
"Eeeehhhh? Spider? Why're you on her lap? Where's Bat?" Cobra asked aloud as he skipped closer, giggling a little at the sight of the usually aggressively emotional woman laying her head down like a child who just needed a little time to herself.  
  
Spider grit her teeth as she looked up at the horny boy. "Shut it, I'm enjoying myself here. Besides, you're one to talk, your Jõtaijin failed too." She murmured as she leaned into the pettings, sighing softly...  
  
"Spider's done good work, even though we have a Jõtaider on our hands, Cobra." The brunette woman that led their gang, D'Or, smiled as she reached out to run a hand through his hair just the same. "Bat's out scoping things out so that she can prepare for her next move. You know how she operates. Methodically picking targets that brim with the most affection." She explained as she moved her hand down to rub his cheek, giggling softly...  
  
Cobra sighed as he felt all of his negative vibes just melt away in his boss's hand, causing him to collapse at her feet like another pet. "Aaahh... Well, you should know something theeeeen... We've got one more Jõtaider joining in, some sort of mecha broad who beat up all my Jõtaijin's pawns like they were bowling pins..."  
  
This made D'Or frown a little as she reached up to grasp the side of her wide-rimmed hat. "Another? How many more must try to interrupt my plans..." She muttered as she looked into the lone light that illuminated her hideout...  
  
"No matter. Soon enough, everyone will be freed from their restrictive roles. Everyone will be happy once they've become monsters like us..."


End file.
